Rugby: Aucklanders hold their nerve

Peter Asili, of Auckland, is tackled by Aaron Smith and Fraser Stone. Photo / Getty Images

The Bucketheads survived although the downpour in Palmerston North made plenty of deafening music inside their plastic headgear.

That cacophony may have drowned out some of the pain as an erratic Auckland eventually inflicted more of the damage Manawatu have felt in this year's domestic championship at the bottom of the points table.

It was a drawn-out struggle before the visitors sorted out their tactics and strategies well enough to accrue the anticipated win. This was no walloping, it was a rugged, awkward slog to victory - a precious reward though which has promoted Auckland to second on the points table.

They flicked the switch after halftime. Coach Mark Anscombe sent his son Gareth on as a replacement five-eighths and he was soon converting lock Liaki Moli's try and kicking a fine penalty to have Auckland in the lead just after the break.

The Auckland scrum was in command throughout but it was their lineout which cracked a vital turnover near the Manawatu line for Moli to bash his way over. In that moment the impetus changed and Auckland believed they could win the game.

They did and then incredibly claimed a bonus point with three tries in a frenetic last five minutes, the clincher a dramatic dive from a desperate Dave Thomas.

Auckland and wet-weather have been regular companions in this ITM Cup and that may have been an advantage last night as they eventually surfed their way past a willing Manawatu on their sodden home track.

Host halfback Aaron Smith chivvied his forwards and was a smart contributor in keeping the pressure on the favourites Auckland, who lacked composure.

Auckland were asked to play into the wind first and while they made clumps of mistakes they were only two Isaac Thompson penalties adrift at the interval. It would take willpower and concentration to overturn even such a tight deficit.

Auckland suffered from the dropsies for much of the first half with players shelling kicks and passes with far too much regularity.

There were a couple of promising Auckland shortside forays with skipper Daniel Braid a key component as he urged his pack forward in the trying conditions. However Manawatu's defence held while Auckland's final pass or catch was too often sloppy.

The hosts bustled and scrapped for turnovers and when they got one, usually smashed the ball downfield to ease the pressure. They were wound up to give a great deal more than last week when a sloppy performance brought out the selection razor from coach Dave Rennie.

They harried Auckland, shut down their space and gave them little time to adjust their running, passing and kicking choices. Conditions were their ally, Auckland helped too with double-digit handling mistakes.

It was very awkward, so slippery underfoot that both sides resembled Torvill and Dean on tranquilisers. They skated, slipped and fell, often in slow motion while holding the ball became an uncertain skill.

Auckland's one advantage was that they could see how well Manawatu's tactics worked and could use that template themselves in the second half. They did and turned their ineffective first half into a rainbow victory.

AUCKLAND 32
* Tries: Liaki Moli, Angus Ta'avao, Brenton Helleur, Dave Thomas.
* Cons: Gareth Anscombe (3).
* Pens: Gareth Anscombe (2).

MANAWATU 6
* Pens: Isaac Thompson (2).